Self-adjusting propeller.



I F. w. s TonnER.

s ELF ADJUSTING PROPELLER. AIYPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13.1912.

1 ,189,749'. l Patented July 4, -1916.

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@2li-Zorn@ UNITED STATES PANT OFFICE.

FRANK W. STODDER, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

SELF-ADJUSTING- PROPELLER.

To aZZ 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK W. STODDER, a citizen'of the United States, and resident of Somerville, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Self-Adjusting Propellers, of which the following description, in connection, with the accompanying drawin s, is a specification, like numerals on the rawings representing like parts.

My invention is a propeller having its blades self-adjusting for varying speeds, being adapted for use either in air or water.

Among the principal objects of my invention, is to provide a propeller which, first, shall maintain at all times the most efficient pitch irrespective of the speed, and second, which shall require a minimum power for driving it. i

In carryingl out my invention I make the blades of the propeller self-turning and so shape the blades that they will present a constant angle of attack relative to the source of resistance notwithstanding changes of speed or rotation, and hence of forward movement with relation to the air or water. The saving of power in driving the propeller is secured byfso shaping and proportioning the blades as to secure a practically uniform thrust at all distances lengthwise of the blade from the shaft. Preferably this is secured by providing a narrow-outer end where the speed of travel is greatest and a wider inner end where the speed of travel is less, thereby avoiding the increase friction or drag on the water or air ofthe usual blade with its wide outer end. By my in# vention the blades automatically change their pitch with varying speeds, so that there is also an increase in efficiency with an increase of number of revolutions per minute, as distinguished from the operation of propellers having blades with ylixed pitches,

' in which there is a loss of efliciency when the normal speed is exceeded.

I 4desire to distinguish my invention from those propellers in which the blades are given a limited rotary or pivotal movement with relation to the shaft for the purpose of feathering or being rendered dead (asafor use in auxiliary craft) and for hand-con-y trol, e. g. to reverse the propellers direction without yreversing the engine, myv invention differing radically from all these in that the propeller is .automatically adjust-v able in accordance with its varying speed.

y Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4, 1916.

Application led September 13, 1912. Serial No. 720,211.

of propeller of the mechanicalembodiment thereof herein disclosed for said purposes of illustration.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows the propeller in side elevation, parts being broken away and sectioned for clearness of illustration; Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are fragmentary views in side elevation, Fig. 2 showing a Y blade in neutral position, Fig. 3 showing a blade in reverse position, and Fig.- 4 showing a blade in what I term zero position; Fig. 5 .is a transverse horizontal sectional view on the line 5-5 Fig. 2; Fi 6 is a similar sectional view of a modi ed construction; and Fig. 'is atop plan of the mounting of one of the blades.

It will be understood that the shaft 1 and hub 2 may be of any usual or preferred shape and material, that herein disclosed being shown for convenience only. The blades 3 are suitably trunnioned in the hub 2 so as to swing or turn freely about an axis 4, and for convenience I have shown each blade as having its trunnion provided with! a central pivot stud or gudgeon 5 and a widely extending base or lateral support 6 seated in a correspondingly shaped recess provided in said hub and secured therein by clamping plates or bearings 7 engaged at their opposlte endsv by threaded ring nuts 8, the relation of the parts being such asv to blade. Adjacent its base, the blade widens' out rearwardly or has a lateral wing 10. Thence it tapers preferably uniformly, as shown best in Fig. 2, to thel outer end 11 which is relatively narrow. Likewise the edge 9 tapers to an approximately thin point at saidend 11 as best shown in Fig. 4, and also the blade tapers from a relatively thick cutting edge 9, where the outer surface of said blade has a pronounced arch, as shown at 12, Fig. 5, adjacent said cutting edge,

tofa thin trailingedge 13.- Preferably.' the inner surface. of the blade is perfectly flat,

as shown best at 14 Fig. 5. The-blades are so proportioned and the taper of the blade from its base outwardly, as shown along theline 13, is such thatthe width varies inl proportion to the distance from the center of the shaft, or, in other words, the

width decreases in prop'ortionv to the in?" crease in speed of travel as the outer end is approached, so that thenarrow `outer end 1s compensated by the increased speed of travel thereof as compared with the wider portiony toward the hub and the smallerv speed of travel thereof.

In use, let it be supposedv that when the shaft begins. to rotate, the blade is standing in its neutral position, as shown in Fig. 2.

. Upon the initial rotary movement of the shaft in contra-clockwise direction the wing ,10, and in fact all the surface of the blade which extends rearwardly of the axial line 4, viewing Fig. 2, operates in opposition to the direction of attack of the water (supposing the propeller is being used in water) to swing said blade around toward the position shown in Fig. 4. As, however, the blade is curved, as explained, its curved cutting edge portion quickly. swings vsuicientlyforward of the axial line 4 to move the center of pressure on the blade forward until the blade comes, say, to the position shown in Fig. l, when the pressure is applied at the point which counterbalances the forward swing. Moreover, as the blade swings l resistance' at the start of the revolution of 4the shaft bemg ninety degrees thereto. In

other words, the blade swivels automatically sov as to maintain its designed angle vto the source of resistance. When the propeller blade is once'in revolution, the angle of at tack to the source of resistance is constant, but the' pitch of the blades is variable. This angle depends upon the curve given to the blades and their width. With a given width -A any increase of curve (i. c. a curve of shorter radius) gives a greater angle of attack, whereas with agiven curve any increase of width 'of the bladesgives a smaller angle of attack. lt has been shown by recognized authorities that an angle of about lten degrees 1s the most efficient in its relation to lift and drift. As shown in Fig. 2, where I the blade stands edgewise to the length direction of the shaft, the blade offers an angle of resistance of ninety degrees to rotary movement of theshaft, whereas when the blade is swung around to the position shown in Fig. 4,'itA may be said to oerthe least resistance ,and its 'angle of attack is zero (when the' blade stands thus at vright 4angles to the shaft). t Accordingly-I have aimed lto so curve and proportion the blade that it will automatically adjust and maintain itself in such a position between these two extreme positions of Fig.- 2 and Fig. 4, as to l' have an angle of attack o f approximately ten degrees with relation to the source of resistance. And as the source of vresistance varies with the rotation of the propeller blades and the longitudinalv movement of the propeller through the water (either forward or backward) it follows that the blade correspondingly turns or swivels onv its trunnion bearing in automatically maintaining this angle. As the bladestarts, the center ofpressure on its surface is back of the axis 4, and hence swings the blade forward as the propeller rotates. With this forward swing, two new conditions arise, viz. the angle of attack decreases (preferably until it reaches the desired ten degrees), and the center of pressure tends to move -forward near to the cutting edge, while the curved cutting edge advances 'to a position farther in front ofthe axis 4 of the swing of the bladel (when viewing the propeller from the 'side as for instance in Figs. 1 and 2). Thereupon another new condition arises, viz. the source of resistance varies, owing to the backward thrust of the revolving blade, so that instead of coming from an angle of ninety degrees with relation to the shaft (as in Fig. 2) it comes from, say, an angle of forty-five degrees with relation to the `shaft (supposing the propeller is anchoredl and simply the water permitted to move). As,however, the propeller itself moves for- 'ward in addition to the rearward movement of the water, there follows a further decrease in the angle of resistance of the water with relation to the shaft, whichcontinues to decrease'with the increase of relative speed. To make this clearer, suppose the object carrying thel propellers is anchored against forward movement (in elfect a fan or blower instead of a propeller) the power depends upon the slip, but in allowing it to assume its'intended purpose (forward movement) there is an increase in angle of source of resistance at iirst, but afterward (with increase in forward speed) a gradual decrease,

and the most eiliciency is attained with the least slip. The blade maintains vautomatically its proper propelling angle because of 1pts shape and automatic swiveling, so that,

notwithstanding all'these changes in surrounding conditions, the propeller blade a forward drive.

does n ot change its angle of attack after getting properly started. The blades will automatically maintain an angle vwith the shaft of approximately ten ldegrees less than the angle which the source of resistance bears to the shaft. By having the inner surface of the blade formed from front to rear edge widthwise of the blade in a substantially straight line without any widthwise curve the change of center of pressure over said surface is even or uniform as'the blade turns automatically. The relatively vthick and arched cutting edge and outer surface coperate with the rearwardly extended adjacent wing surface to promote a tendency to a vacuum over said outer surface and thereby greatly increase the efficiency of the propeller. By having the' widest part of the blade adjacent the base, thereis less drag through the water than if the outer end of the blade were wire, and also it is easier to overcome the inertia of the blade.

By reversing the bladesend for end, my invention is adaptable as a windmill, in

r which case the wide portions of the blades come at the outer ends where they have the greatest leverage, the object being the reverse of that of a propeller.

In Fig. 6, I have shown the rear end or edge of the blade as provided` at its outer surface with a reverse camber 16 opposite to the arch 12 adjacent the forward edge 9, thereby securing the even change of center of pressure in -connection with a cambered inner surface 17 which I have explained as being secured in the preferred construction by the substantially straight widthwise surface 14. This is especially advantageous when the propeller is used in the air.

From the above description, it will be understood that my invention is broadly new in providing means for automatically maintaining the blades at their angle of `maximum efficiency irrespective-of varying speeds or revolutions per minute, and accordingly the invention may be carried out in a wide variety of mechanical embodiments. As the forward speed of the driven object increases, the center of resistance of each blade shifts so as to turn the blade, thereby accordingly changing its pitch to accommodate itself to the varying resistance, the backward thrust on the forward or cutting edge of the blade, together with the eect of the pressure or resistance upon the wing portion of the blade being sufficient to rotate the blade and its trunnion and thus effect the change of pitch. It will be noted that the center of resistance is normally at one side of the axis of swing, z'. e., of the axis of the trunnion, and therefore, as soon as the propeller` shaft-begins to rotate in the direction of the arrow 15, the blade will immediately swing into its proper pitch for So likewise if the propeller shaft be rotated in an opposite direction, the blades of the propeller will immediately reverse and accomplish the same automatic adjustment for a backward movement, as indicatedin Fig. 3.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A propeller, having each blade freely rotatable independently of the other blades on an axis substantially at right angles tol the axis of rotation of the propeller, each blade having a longitudinally curved form and a portion lof the propelling face formed eccentric to the axis of rotation of the blade whereby said curved and eccentric form automatically turns the blade upon its axis to maintain it approximately at a uniform angle of efliciency irrespective of varying speeds, the pressure upon the offset curved edge of the blade automatically varying the center of pressure ofthe propelling face of the blade from its normal center when at rest.

2. A propeller, having its blades pivotally mounted for free and independent swinging movement, said pivotal mounting being on an axis substantially at right angles to the axis of rotation of the propeller, each blade being curved outwardly at one side of the axis of said pivotal movement from its base toward the lengthwise middle of the blade and thence inwardly toward said axis for the remaining length of the blade',`whereby the center of pressure of each blade and the forwardly curved edge of each blade are eachV eccentric to said pivotal axis.

3. A propeller, having its blade pivotally mounted for free and independent swing-l ing movement, each blade being curved outwardly at one side of the axis of said swinging movement from its base toward the lengthwise middle of the blade and thence inwardly toward said axis for the remaining length of the blade and having a greater width adjacent the basethan at the outer end.

mounted for free and independent swinging movement, each blade being curved outwardly at one side of the axis of said swinging movement from its base toward the lengthwise middle of the blade and thence inwardly toward said axis for the remain- 4. A propeller, having its blades pivotally curving away from said axis between said ends, the inner surface of the blade being 6. A propeller, having its blades pivotallyv mounted for free independent vswinging movement, said pivotal mounting being on an axis substantially at right angles to the axis of rotation of the propeller, each blade, when viewed edgewise having a lengthwise curve or bow approaching the line of the pivotal axis adjacent its opposite ends and curving away from said axis between said ends, the inner surface of the blade being substantially straight from front to rear edge and the outer surface having an arched cutting edge and thence tapering to a thin trailing edge.

v7. A propeller, having its blades pivotally mounted, each blade being curved longitudinally and tapered to an outerptip and laterally to a trailing edge, the inner surface being formed in substantially 'the same curved plane, andhaving its forward edge arched at the outer surface, said blade having provision whereby itscenter of pressure during rotation shifts from its normal' center when at restl substantially in a straight line across the width of the blade steadily and evenly during changing angles of attack.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this speeication, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK W. STODDER. 

